Friday, September 7, 2012

Archimandrite Flor

Archimandrite Flor, one of the pillars of Old Jordanville, reposed in the Lord on Tuesday. He was 85. Fr. Flor was the last surviving member of the Brotherhood of St. Job of Pochaev, which came to the monastery after the Second World War. The senior-most archimandrite in the Church Abroad, he was one of the few remaining links to Vladika Vitaly (Maximenko), the founder of the seminary. Fr. Flor attended Holy Trinity Seminary, graduating in 1960. He greatly valued the education he received.

Source: Monastery Website

The slow tolling of the bell woke me up that day. I knew what it meant. After all, I overheard the fathers saying that Fr. Flor’s doctor gave him a week to live. He had been so active in years past, doing electrical and plumbing work along with baking kulich—all learned on the job. But when I first arrived at Jordanville, he was already winding down.

The news spread quickly. Some of the friends whom I alerted had found out hours ago. By noon they had already served two panikhidas and his body was prepared and lying in the cathedral.

Instead of the usual overnight psalter reading, the monastery priests read from the Gospel, excepting one gap in the middle of the night filled by psalter reading by several of us.

Fr. Victor Lochmatow giving the eulogy.

The funeral was the next day. Metropolitan Hilarion, Bishop Peter, and Bishop George presided, along with sixteen priests and four deacons.

Vladika Metropolitan Reading the Prayer of Absolution.

After the funeral, a few of the priests carried the coffin to the back of the cathedral for burial. We sang “Memory Eternal” and threw some dirt into the grave. And life continued the same as ever. Though not quite.

Вечная памятъ!